[Alsat]

I currently have a 501 connected to a Dish 500. Since they discontinued the 6000, I moved the 501 out of the basement - where it was cool - to the cabinet where the 6000 was. Now the 501 seems to be getting a bit flaky, possibly because it it much warmer in the cabinet than it was on the shelf in the basement. Since the life of the 501 is ending soon, I was considering getting a 211/211K and adding the EHD instead of one of their other DVRs to forstall the dvr fee.

Currently, I don't have any HD programming, seeing 121 is probably iffy due to trees, but my tv does have hdmi inputs, and that will probably look better than the svhs going into it now.

Questions, is this a worthwhile swap? Is there any HD on 110 & 119? I have the access (now welcome) fee plus HBO, Cinemax & Showtime (so just the three premiums). Will I continue to get the $6 credit for the 501 dvr fee for the remainder of the time or does it disappear once the 501 is deativated?

Thanks

 

[BobaBird]

The days of the 501 line (as well as the 301 and legacy boxes) are numbered as Dish wants to use 8PSK modulation instead of QPSK to be able to put more channels on the satellite signal.

The 211/211k with EHD ($40 one-time enabling fee) will be the only way to have Dish DVR without a monthly fee.

There is one HD channel each of HBO and Showtime on 110 as well as a few other nationals, and some HD locals on 110 and 119.

Dish sent out a letter last August, copied from here to http://www.dishuser.org/501.php, which states in part, "You will continue to receive the credit for the full 24 months regardless of when your receiver upgrade takes place."

 

[Alsat]

So I would get HBO in HD at no extra cost, I just need to see the satellite?

 

[BobaBird]

Yes, and you already get 110. If you can add 129 you would get the rest of the HBO and Showtime channels as well as Cinemax.

 

[Alsat]

Thanks

 

[[email protected] Network]

I wanted to add that if you do a leased upgrade to a 211, we would need to add HD programming to your account (which would be the Dish America package, or the AT120 and higher). You can purchase it, and keep the welcome pack.

Also, the 211 does not have built-in UHF, so you would need to get our IR to UHF converter kit if you plan on keeping the 211 out of the remote's LOS. We sell these for $10.

 

[Alsat]

I wanted to add that if you do a leased upgrade to a 211, we would need to add HD programming to your account (which would be the Dish America package, or the AT120 and higher). You can purchase it, and keep the welcome pack.

Also, the 211 does not have built-in UHF, so you would need to get our IR to UHF converter kit if you plan on keeping the 211 out of the remote's LOS. We sell these for $10.

Thanks for the info. If I upgrade, I will purchase the 211.

If I do, then I will no longer have the DVR fee on my account, is that correct? So by replacing my 501 with a purchased 211, my bill should drop by $6 and the EHD fee is a one time $40 fee, right?

 

[Jim5506]

You are correct.

 

[[email protected] Network]

Thanks for the info. If I upgrade, I will purchase the 211.

If I do, then I will no longer have the DVR fee on my account, is that correct? So by replacing my 501 with a purchased 211, my bill should drop by $6 and the EHD fee is a one time $40 fee, right?

You are correct.

Correct, there is no DVR fee for a 211 with EHD, and the one time fee is $40

 

[Alsat]

Upgraded from the 501 to the 211K this weekend.

I have 6 HD channels now, they look good.

Observations:

The 7 line program guide is good, but I miss the episode # and the date last aired in the info screen that the 501 had.

The guide only seems to want to scroll with the button held down if I point the remote directly at the box, it will move if I repeatably press the buttons even when pointed away, and all other buttons respond instantly without it needing to be pointed directly at the box.

The HD channels do look good, but the SD channels seem to be fuzzier than the 501. I guess the upconverter via the SVHS input on my tv is better than the one in the 211K before it goes out the hdmi.

When switching between inputs on the tv, the 211K puts up the info banner when going back to the input it is on. There does not seem to be any way to disable this display. There is a way to disable the message that you have selected some other device on the remote other than the satellite.

When switching back to hdmi input that the 211K is connected to, I sometimes get an error screen that the device does not support some sort of DRM flags and the content will be disabled. Flipping the channels back and forth clears this up, but it is annoying. When this popped up while activating the receiver, the CSR said I needed a new HDMI cable. I have replaced the one that came with the receiver with another one, but the message persists.

The program information on the local channels via the OTA is not available. This is odd. The $25 government provided converter box would show me the current program and those for the next 8-12 hours plus the descriptions of those programs. My hdtv, (a Phillips) will only show the current program and its description. The 211K shows nothing. Each "upgrade" has actually been a step backwards in functionality.

I have not hooked up a disk to it yet. I have a 1 TB WD Caviar drive and have formatted it and was running a surface scan on it over the weekend. I will connect it up tonight.

 

[BobaBird]

DRM flag - I would have suspected a compatability problem between the 211k and the TV, and not necessarily the HDMI cable that is literally between the two. Dish might be able to update the 211k so you don't have to use the workaround. What is the exact TV model?

Local channel EPG - Dish receivers don't display the PSIP EPG received OTA and limit their own locals EPG to those who subscribe to locals. The presence of guide info for sub-channels not carried by Dish varies by market

 

[Alsat]

Followup - got the hard drive connected, although the CSR told me she took care of activating the EHD when I activated the receiver, I still had to call in again to activate the EHD.

With the EHD, I now see the episode # & aired date.

I understand why Dish does not provide the local guide information, why give the customer something they can get for free when they can (and do) make money charging them for it. I would not be suprised to see the OTA input go away on all satellite receivers in the future, just to move customers further in this direction.

I don't know the model # of the Phillips tv, it was the only 32" I could find that had SVHS input so I could connect the 501 to it. I never liked the color on it, it has a horrible viewing angle, now that I don't need the SVHS input, I may replace it.